February is known for hearts for many reasons. Valentine’s Day is February 14th, when you usually ask that special someone to have your heart. But February is also American Heart Month! Heart Disease is a major problem in the United States with about 715,000 heart attacks occurring each year and about 600,000 people that die from heart disease.

In order to promote healthy living, let’s look at how to survive a heart attack when alone:

Many people are alone, without help, when they suffer a heart attack. When the heart is beating improperly and the victim begins to feel faint, one only has about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness. However, victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously. A deep breath should be taken before each cough, and the cough must be deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest.

A breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds without let-up until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again. Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating. The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get to a hospital.

Now that we have educated you, pass this news onto those you care about either through word of mouth or on one of our heart healthy promotional products.